Sports
Hockey

Brawl in Vancouver helped Flames steady ship

Calgary Flames' Kevin Westgarth (left) and Vancouver Canucks Kellan Lain (right) fight during the first period of their NHL game at Rogers Arena in hVancouver, B.C. on Saturday January 18, 2014. (Carmine Marinelli/QMI Agency)

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In between the Calgary Flames found themselves mired in a streak fans and players alike found particularly frustrating thanks to just two regulation wins in 16 outings.

Then came The Brawl.

Flames head coach Bob Hartley started Kevin Westgarth, Brian McGrattan and Blair Jones on the road Jan. 18 against in Vancouver, where the game opened against the host Canucks with several gloves hitting the ice before the puck.

The 10-man melee that ensued saw eight players ejected just two seconds in, followed by an enraged John Tortorella famously charging towards the Flames dressing room at period’s end.

Despite the firestorm of controversy that followed, it ended up being the best thing to happen to the Flames all season long.

“I think it was a turning point for our season,” said Flames defenceman Chris Butler, who was ejected for his part in the fight.

“Things were tough for us at that time. We were getting tired of losing, and guys were (peeved) off. Had we won that game, it would have been that much better, but I know it brought us that much closer together.”

Following the 3-2 overtime loss to the Canucks, the Flames spent a full day laughing and reminiscing before a great effort in San Jose also saw the team fall short 3-2 to the host Sharks. What followed was a 19-12 finish that has the rebuilding organization and its players feeling better about the future.

“It was great — I think it did bring us all together,” said Westgarth, who started the brawl by dropping his gloves at centre ice against Canucks veteran Kevin Bieksa.

“It was a pretty organic incident. Grats and I talking afterwards had the same idea of doing something to excite the boys. It was incredible for our squad whether you were in the fight or not. You’re in the trenches together. If you weren’t, you had to battle 60 minutes on a really short bench against a good squad.

“Ten willing combatants, and after the fight, everyone was patting each other on the back,” Westgarth continued. “It was good for hockey — you don’t want it to happen every day, but that’s part of the soul of the game. People who want to deride that can go watch another sport. People watch hockey for the violence — just like football.”

Westgarth says the team ate dinner together after the game, swapping endless stories and fist-bumps.

“Pretty bonding experience,” Westgarth said.

“It loosened everybody up. Things weren’t going very well before that, and I’d say that was one of our best games. In San Jose, it was honestly one of the best games, too. It’s gotten better and better after that.”

Joe Colborne agrees.

“Things like that galvanize a team,” said the Calgary native Colborne.

“You don’t want to let those guys down — they stood up and put their bodies on the line,” Colborne added. “There were guys who usually play 10 minutes who were playing 18 or 19 minutes that night. A couple times, I had to shift down to the other side of the bench in case one of the guys got too tired and were caught on the ice and I would have to play a shift on defence. Thank God, that didn’t have to happen. You don’t want to see that too often, obviously — a lot of people don’t like that.

“But it really brings a team together. It brought a tight group even closer.”